


there is no one else above you

by onacoldnight



Series: have i told you lately (that i love you) [2]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7858264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onacoldnight/pseuds/onacoldnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaehwan has tried so hard - really, really hard - just to beat Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon. He always fails miserably, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a prequel from 'i love you from head to toe', and i decided to create something from it :D so i've been working on this since last month and this was originally planned as a oneshot but i suddenly changed my mind hehe if you guys know special a (manga), this fic is inspired by it in some ways ~ i hope you will love this!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are you rank one again!

The class ranking results for the previous term will be released today, and Jaehwan can’t control the smile forming on his face as he walks on his way to school. He studied very well for the exams, and he is sure that he will be the rank one.

He is very sure that he will beat Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon.

“Hakyeon!” He calls for his best friend who is standing near the admission office, just a few meters away from the bulletin board where the teachers post the rankings. He probably saw the results already. “Hakyeon!”

Hakyeon finds him waving his two arms, and meets him halfway. He’s smiling too weirdly, but Jaehwan ignores it. “Hey, Jaehwan. Good morning.”

“Hey, I’m pretty sure you saw the rankings already. The lunch is on me!” Jaehwan says, pulling him to where the bulletin board is. There are several students crowding the area, and now Hakyeon is tugging him away.

“Jaehwan.” Hakyeon steps in front of him,and pushes him back. Jaehwan furrows his eyebrows.

“Wait, Hakyeon. I know I got rank one but I want to see it for myself. I’m going to take a photo of it and shove to Jung Taekwoon’s face.” Jaehwan insists, but Hakyeon doesn’t budge.

“Hakyeon, what are you doing?”

“We can take a look on it later. The classes will start soon.”

“We can be a little bit late, Hakyeon. It won’t hurt.” He says, finally pushing Hakyeon aside. Hakyeon calls him again, but he doesn’t respond, and goes for the bulletin board. “Excuse me!”

The students make way for him, some of them are his classmates, and he smiles at them before facing the board with his name on rank –

“Two? I’m rank two?!” Jaehwan shouts in disbelief, and his eyes go up for the rank one spot. “And Jung Taekwoon is still rank one?!”

There’s a hand on Jaehwan’s shoulder. “Jaehwan.”

“Are you sure this is not a mistake?!” Jaehwan looks at the students, his classmates, and Hakyeon. “I’m sure – I’m sure I got perfect scores in my exams!”

“Jaehwan, let’s go.” Hakyeon now puts his arm on his shoulders, taking him away from the crowd. The school bell rings. “We’re going to be late.”

“No, I’m going to the faculty office and I will ask Miss Jang about this.” And as soon as he shrugs Hakyeon’s arm off his shoulders, he suddenly meets the number one cause of his unending misery. Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon. “Oh, look what we have here!”

Taekwoon just raises his eyebrows in acknowledgment, and that makes Jaehwan’s blood boil. He seldom speaks, only when needed or when he wants to annoy him, and that frustrates Jaehwan so much.

“You!” Jaehwan hisses, his index finger poking Taekwoon’s chest. “Why are you rank one again?”

Taekwoon just shrugs, and proceeds on walking, his shoulder even hitting his. Jaehwan’s eyes widen, and he turns around to grab his wrist. Taekwoon looks down at his wrist on Jaehwan’s grip, then looks up to glare at him. “Let go.”

“Why are you rank one again!” He says, choking back his tears. He is not going to look weak in front of the person he despises so much. He knows it’s immature to react this way, hating the person who is above him in class rankings, but he’s been studying so hard to be better than him, ever since middle school, and yet he never gets the chance to beat him. Even once.

“I don’t know.” He says quietly, and removes his hand from his wrist, walking away again. This time, Jaehwan doesn’t follow him. Jaehwan stays on his spot until Hakyeon pulls him.

“It’s okay, Jaehwan. There’s always next time.” Hakyeon assures him. Jaehwan doesn’t know how many times has he heard it from his best friend, and sometimes he thinks he should just give up on trying to beat Taekwoon. It’s obviously futile.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“What are you doing, Jaehwan?” Hakyeon asks, as soon as he sits down in front of Jaehwan. “Why are you writing Kazakhstan repeatedly?”

The canteen is so noisy, and Jaehwan should be noisy too, but what’s important is that he memorizes the correct spelling of Kazakhstan.

Miss Jang gave him a sad smile after placing his World History exam on his desk, 99% in red ink. Jaehwan wanted to cry.

Wrong spelling is always wrong.

“I would’ve been on the same spot as Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon if I wrote Kazakhstan correctly.” He explains solemnly, and Hakyeon looks like he’s having a hard time understanding it.

“I admire your determination to beat Taekwoon.” Hakyeon says. “But right now, you should chill. You look like you’re going to explode again.”

Jaehwan opens his mouth to say something, but Hongbin comes to sit beside Hakyeon. He leans forward to meet Jaehwan’s eyes, then turns to look at Hakyeon.

“Hey, have you heard?” Hongbin starts. “Even if Jaehwan got a perfect score in World History, he would remain in rank two.”

Jaehwan couldn’t believe his ears. He reaches up and fists Hongbin’s sleeve, and the latter complains at it being crumpled. “What do you mean?”

“Taekwoon got extra points in Physics. Apparently, he derived the formula for the equations of motion, meaning, he –”

“He used integral calculus?” Jaehwan concludes, his palm hitting the table. Their trays clank, startling both Hakyeon and Hongbin.

“Uh, yeah?” Hongbin nods stiffly. He quickly stands up, when he sees Jaehwan’s grim expression. “I should get going. See you later at class! Bye!”

They’re not even classmates, because Hongbin belongs to the other section. And he’s also known Jaehwan for so long that he doesn’t stay long when Jaehwan starts planning for Taekwoon’s destruction (which always fails, by the way). Hakyeon’s the only one who can endure him until he cools down.

“Wow, we’re just starting basic differential calculus and he’s already advanced?” Hakyeon says in awe, completely forgetting Jaehwan who is already fuming. “You just can’t underestimate Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon.”

And there comes the sound of a pencil being snapped into half.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

Jaehwan comes back to normal the next day. Coming back to normal means smiling at everyone, going to the art club during breaks to inspire the new members, diligently participating in class discussions, singing at the top of his lungs when he’s asked, and laughing at a classmate’s joke even though it’s so bad.

Coming back to normal also means annoying Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon, which Jaehwan also fails to do because Taekwoon doesn’t even acknowledge him.

It’s been months since the school year started and Jaehwan is still wondering why Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon is sitting behind him and taking up the same elective class. When he attended the very first class meeting, he thought that finally he’s in a classroom without Jung Taekwoon. But suddenly, The Unwanted appeared in the door and sat just behind him, and Jaehwan’s world crashed in just a second.

While waiting for the teacher to arrive, Jaehwan decides to extract an answer from him. He turns around – his chair screeching in the process –and knocks on Taekwoon’s desk.

“Hey, Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon.”

Taekwoon, who is busy with his phone, looks up to glance at him, then back to his phone. Jaehwan is already used to that kind of response from him. But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up.

“I’ve wanted to ask you this. What are you even doing here in this class?”

“To study.” Taekwoon simply answers, his attention still on his phone. Jaehwan tries to crane his neck to see what the hell is Taekwoon doing with his phone that keeps him busy, but the other just pulls his phone closer to him, trying to keep the screen away from Jaehwan’s sight. Jaehwan rolls his eyes. “Of course, duh, you’re here to study. We are all here to study, and I’m really dumb to even ask a very obvious question to you, genius.”

Taekwoon just shrugs, and Jaehwan wants to kick his shin very hard, if not only for the other’s desk and his chair blocking him from doing it.

“Why do I even bother talking to you?” Jaehwan whines, and sits properly again. But of course, he really can’t stay still and he doesn’t like giving up so his chair screeches again. “Seriously, Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon. Why are you in an astronomy elective class? You like math more.”

Jaehwan thought Taekwoon puts down his phone on his desk to answer him, but he’s completely wrong. Taekwoon puts down his phone just to stare outside the window. Jaehwan let out an indignant noise, slightly offended. So he decides he will just give up and look at the wall clock hanging above the blackboard. The teacher is taking too long to arrive, and what filling his mind up are several possible answers why Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon is in the astronomy elective class.

Maybe he’s bored with math so he enrolled for science. Or he secretly likes science more than math. Or –

There’s a very loud screech of chair, and Jaehwan ignores the complaints from his classmates.

“Are you following me?” He asks quietly, his hand on his chest. “You’re following me just to ruin my day, aren’t you?”

Well, that earns a scoff from Taekwoon. He crosses his arms on his chest. “Tell me, is following you here just to ruin your oh-so-beautiful day worth my time?”

“What –”

“You’re overthinking, Mister Rank Two Lee Jaehwan.” Taekwoon says smugly. Jaehwan’s eyes widen, now absolutely offended. Taekwoon is smirking at him now, obviously enjoying the fact that he just hit a nerve. “And just stop asking, you will never get an answer from me.”

Jaehwan is about to retort about Taekwoon being an insensitive jerk and how he will get his revenge one day when the teacher announces his arrival. He glares at Taekwoon before sitting properly again, trying to forget that he’s sitting just behind him. He’s probably laughing on his mind right now.

Coming back to normal also means Jaehwan losing to Taekwoon, as the latter succeeds on annoying him instead.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“I don’t know that today is show-my-loyalty-to-my-school day.” Jaehwan says, looking at Hakyeon from head to toe. He’s wearing a blue hoodie with their school’s emblem in it, and a blue headband with their school’s name embroidered.

“Today is the start of the interschool football game, you dumb.” Hakyeon corrects. “And you’re coming with me to watch the game.”

“Football is boring. I’m staying here in the library.” Jaehwan says. There’s a tall pile of books waiting for him, sitting on his lap as he was just sorting it before Hakyeon came for him, and he should not waste the golden opportunity to read it all. “Now go, before the librarian sees you.”

“I’m not going without you!” Hakyeon hisses, pulling Jaehwan up. The books that are on his lap fall, creating a very loud thud on the floor. “Come on, come with me!”

“I said no!”

The librarian comes into the sight, and Jaehwan still tries to detach himself from Hakyeon. She crosses her arms, glaring at them. “You two, get out.”

“What – no, I still have to study, only Cha Hakyeon needs to get out, not me!” He protests to the librarian, but Hakyeon is already putting some of his books in his bag, and some on his arms.

The librarian shakes her head and points to the door.

Jaehwan sighs in defeat, and grabs his bag and books from Hakyeon before stepping out of the library.

“You can put your things inside your locker before we go to the field. Hongbin reserved spots for us.”

“Shut up, I’m bringing all of these.” He says, and heads first to the field, Hakyeon helping him hold his books.

“You’re going to enjoy the game, I swear!” Hakyeon assures, which Jaehwan very much disagrees. He doesn’t like sports, as he’s more interested in arts. “Show how much you love your school, Lee Jaehwan! It won’t hurt you, even your ranking.”

“What does my ranking have to do with the school spirit?” He asks, but Hakyeon only smiles widely at him. Jaehwan is completely defenseless, he really can’t do anything to get away from his best friend.

The game hasn’t started yet when they reached the field. But the seats are already full, a nice combination of blue and yellow filling the benches. Hakyeon brings him on the seats Hongbin reserved them, which is on the third row. Unfortunately, Jaehwan is forced to sit between Hakyeon and Hongbin, so there’s no chance of escaping when the two are fully immersed with the game. He hugs his bag and books, frowning.

“Hey, don’t frown.” Hongbin says, pinching his cheek. He turns around to glare at him, but Hongbin doesn’t even look affected. “It ruins the atmosphere. What if your frown brings our school bad luck?”

“I wouldn’t be frowning if I weren’t here.” Jaehwans retorts. “I should be in the library, studying. Not watching you two fanboying over Wonshik and Sanghyuk.”

“Aww.” Hakyeon puts his arm on his shoulders, and waves a blue flag in his face. “You can fanboy over Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon, though.”

Jaehwan turns to look at Hakyeon in utter disbelief. “You’re kidding me.”

Hakyeon shrugs, and once again, Jaehwan is left defeated.

Their school’s football team comes out in the field, headed by the team captain, Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon. Jaehwan rolls his eyes when the crowd screams very loud as his name is called, followed by the other team members.

“Seriously, why do you all like Jung Taekwoon?” Jaehwan asks, and he almost can’t hear himself from the loud cheers he’s hearing. He regrets leaving his earplugs at home, thinking that he’s going to use the library. And he never gets an answer from his two helpful and considerate companions, so he chooses to close his eyes, already expecting a big headache later on.

Jaehwan doesn’t know how long he has been sitting on the benches, just watching the players kick the ball, also hearing Hakyeon and Hongbin exchanging comments, but he’s sure that the game is about to end when Jung Taekwoon scores a goal, erupting cheers from his schoolmates. He exhales in relief, tilting his head in amusement when he sees Taekwoon ruffling his teammates’ hairs, saying something to them with a big grin on his face. He rarely sees Jung Taekwoon smile, and today is just one of those days.

Well, Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon just brought their school to victory again.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“Jaehwan, Miss Jang wants to see you.”

Jaehwan smiles in thanks before fixing his things and going to the faculty office. He doesn’t expect who he sees there with Miss Jang when he arrived. He’s sitting so casually there, in an unoccupied swivel chair. He greets his homeroom teacher, and ignores his classmate.

Jaehwan doesn’t really care about Taekwoon’s business there so he turns to Miss Jang. “What is it about, Miss Jang?”

“Good thing you’re both here, I can now talk to you about something.”

Miss Jang asks him to sit on a chair and Jaehwan complies, but he doesn’t place the chair beside Taekwoon – because what the hell no – and he goes to sit on the other side.

“So our school is going to have our very first science exhibit, and this is not like the ordinary exhibits that are exclusive to students and employees of this school, because we are going to invite professionals from different fields of science.”

Jaehwan sits up straight, absolutely interested with the idea. Science has been one of his favorite subjects, aside from arts, and he will never reject the opportunity to work on a science exhibit. “What do you want me to do?”

Miss Jang shakes her head. “Not only you, Jaehwan. You will be working with Taekwoon.”

“Okay, I’m sorry I think I heard you wrong.” Jaehwan scoots his chair closer to his teacher. He thinks that this is not going to be good. “You want me to work with Jung Taekwoon?”

Jaehwan casts a glance at Taekwoon, and he doesn’t look like he’s as interested as him. He groans inwardly. If only he can roll his eyes in front of their homeroom teacher.

Miss Jang nods, confirming Jaehwan’s very unfortunate life. No, no, no, Jaehwan chants on his head. No, no, no.

No, no – “Each class has their own representative. So I want you to represent our class, not only because you’re the top two students of your batch, but also you’re in the same elective class. I’m guessing you will be doing astronomy for this.”

“Wait, Miss Jang. I want to clarify this.” Jaehwan tries, even though the answer is actually obvious. “Jung Taekwoon and I are going to work together? Not individually?”

Jaehwan turns to Taekwoon, about to ask him for help but he’s not speaking at all, not even trying to interrupt them, like a ghost watching them talking with feigned interest.

“You’re going to work as a team, Jaehwan. Only one presentation each class. It’s up to you if you want to ask help from your classmates or not.”

He doesn’t want to work with Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon! He’s hundred percent sure Taekwoon doesn’t like him either. Miss Jang is just asking for a disaster. “But – ”

Jaehwan is about to protest and tell her about catastrophes and such, when Jung Taekwoon stands up.

“Is that all, Miss Jang?”

“What –”

“Yes, Taekwoon. I’m expecting you to give me an idea on Monday. You may go.”

Jaehwan stands up too when Taekwoon leaves the office, and runs after him.

“Hey, Jung Taekwoon!” Jaehwan calls at the other in the empty hallway, and fortunately he stops walking. He stops in front of him, not too close that he is able to punch him on his face. “I know you don’t really want this. I can ask her to pull you out or you do that for me.”

“You’re really going to get rid of me in any way possible, huh?” Taekwoon says, smirking. Jaehwan blinks. He was expecting him to say yes. “Sorry to burst your bubble Lee Jaehwan, but I want this too. Let’s meet in the library tomorrow, after class.”

“Hey!” Jaehwan calls again, but this time Taekwoon doesn’t acknowledge him, and damn, he really wants to kick the plant pot beside him. Or pick it up and hit Taekwoon’s head, whatever.

He just doesn’t want to work with him. Nothing good will come out of it, since they’re not really in good terms.

He messes up his hair in frustration, before going back to his classroom.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

Meeting in the library is the worst decision ever.

“Let’s do something about stars.” Jaehwan suggests, his hand instinctively doodling stars on his notebook.

There’s a snort coming from Mister Rank One Jung Taekwoon. “No, let’s do comets.”

“Stars.”

“Comets.”

“Stars.”

“Comets.”

Jaehwan closes his notebook carefully, smiling his best fake smile at Taekwoon. He also wants to shout at him, but he can’t because he might get banned from the library forever.

“Okay, we’ll do stars then.” Jaehwan concludes.

Taekwoon shakes his head, leaning forward to whisper, “Comets.”

“Oh my god I’m gonna throw a freaking comet at you.” Jaehwan mutters, putting his notebook back in his bag. “Fine, since we are going to represent the whole class, we will ask our classmates tomorrow about this. I’m going home now before I lose my brain from arguing with you.”

Taekwoon just shrugs, and Jaehwan doesn’t really expect him to go out of the library with him or say bye at least, so he pushes the chair under the table and leaves the library.

And that is why he is very much surprised when he sees Taekwoon standing just beside him on the bus stop.

“What are you doing here?” Jaehwan says, stepping away from him. “Are you following me?”

“I’m going home, Lee.” Taekwoon deadpans. “When will you ever stop daydreaming, Mister Rank Two Lee Jaehwan?”

“How dare you call me that?” Jaehwan screams, startling the poor middle schooler standing behind them. “The next time I’ll hear you say that, you’ll regret the day you were born.”

“Ah, I’m really scared of your empty threat.” Taekwoon says sarcastically, and Jaehwan is about to bite back when the bus arrives.

Taekwoon steps first in the bus, and Jaehwan is too busy making faces at his back that after tapping his card on the scanner he realizes that Taekwoon just sat on the very last unoccupied seat at the back. So he stands very far from him, gripping on the handrails.

Then after two stops, the bus is suddenly filled by passengers, and Jaehwan is unwillingly pushed at the back. And now he’s standing just beside Taekwoon who is sitting comfortably on the one-person seat, who has earphones plugged in his ears, who is ignoring Jaehwan and the world.

Jaehwan lightly kicks Taekwoon’s shoe, and the latter doesn’t respond. He kicks again, a bit harder this time, still no respond. So now he kicks really hard, and what he receives is a death glare.

“I’m just annoying you because you’re sitting and I’m not.” Jaehwan says, and for the nth time, he’s unaffected by Taekwoon’s glare. He gives him a shit-eating grin, and just he’s about to kick him again, the bus swerves to the right, making him almost lose his balance and fall on Taekwoon’s lap.

There are complaints from the other passengers, and Jaehwan groans instead, his palm planted on the window. He looks down and sees Taekwoon staring up at him, brows furrowed. Then Jaehwan realizes how awkward his position is, so he clears his throat and stands properly again. He feels his face getting warm, and he turns to look at the front, not bothering to annoy Taekwoon anymore.

Then at last he’s in his stop, and again, without saying good bye to Taekwoon, he jumps off the bus. The warmth on his face now slowly fades away.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“Okay, since we are representing the whole class, Jung and I still want to know your votes.”

Jaehwan announces. Taekwoon is standing beside him, not speaking as usual, and Jaehwan even forced him to stand in front. “Jung wants to make a visual presentation of the comets, and I want the same for the stars. So we will be doing a poll, and of course, majority wins.”

Jaehwan is about to go for the blackboard to write the choices, when someone raises his hand up. It’s Han Sanghyuk, the evilest and the most manipulative person in the world. Jaehwan wants to ignore him, but Sanghyuk calls his name and that means he cannot avoid him. He gives him a ~very~ friendly smile. “Yes, Sanghyuk?”

“Why do we have to do a poll? Since you’re doing astronomy for the science exhibit, you can present the whole Milky Way galaxy. It’s better, right?”

There are sounds of approval from his classmates, so he turns to look at Taekwoon, and he notices the little smirk on his face. He seems okay with the idea, and Jaehwan sighs in defeat.

“Okay, thanks Sanghyuk. We’ll do that.”

And Jaehwan feels like he lost again.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can we be okay, at least?

“I don’t even know why I have to work with him! We don’t have the same interests, and we always argue, and most importantly, he’s my number one rival. Do you think something good comes out of this? Our class will be ruined, I promise.”

“No, it won’t. Unless you really want the class to be ruined.” Hakyeon says matter-of-factly. “One month, Jaehwan. Just, set aside your childish rivalry and –”

“Childish rivalry?!”

Hakyeon puts down his chopsticks on top of his cup ramyun. “Ask everyone, they will tell you the same thing.”

“Huh?”

“Why do you hate Taekwoon that much?” Hakyeon asks, tone serious. Jaehwan gulps. “He doesn’t seem like he hates you too. I think he just finds you irritating, but nothing more than that.”

“Since when have you been friends with him.” Jaehwan mutters, and he feels really betrayed.

“That is not the question here. Look, I’m not taking Taekwoon’s side here. I just want you to know that this is getting out of hand. In less than two years, we’ll be going to university. You cannot be like that forever.”

Jaehwan is left speechless, and he stares at his forgotten noodles. He suddenly lost his appetite. Hakyeon is shoving the entire truth on his face and this time, he has to deal with it.

“I admire your competitiveness, Jaehwan. I really do. You’re really great and smart. But you’re not showing a healthy competition with Taekwoon.” Hakyeon leans forward and pats his cheek across the table.

Jaehwan frowns very slightly.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? I’ve wanted to tell you that, I was just looking for the right timing.” Hakyeon adds. He looks down at their food and chuckles. “Ah, I can’t eat anymore. I guess I will never get the right timing.”

Jaehwan tries not to wince.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“Will that be the final?”

Jaehwan wants to say no and beg for Miss Jang’s mercy, but Taekwoon is already nodding as a confirmation and Jaehwan finally realizes that he can’t do anything about it anymore. He will definitely suffer in the next months of doing this presentation for the science exhibition.

Taekwoon excuses himself, and Jaehwan bows slightly to their homeroom teacher before running out of the faculty office to catch Taekwoon.

“Jung Taekwoon!” He shouts at the empty hallway, because goddamnit Taekwoon walks too fast that he has already reached the end of the hallway, and why the hell Jaehwan always do all the catching?

Lucky for him, Taekwoon stops walking and turns around to glare at him. Jaehwan rolls his eyes before running to him. He stops when he reaches him, and as usual, he doesn’t really go beyond the other’s two and a half feet radius personal space.

“You know, I don’t really want to do this, but.” Jaehwan starts, and slips his hand in his pocket to get his phone. He offers it to Taekwoon, and the latter looks down at his phone and then back to his face. “I have to get your number, for uh, our schedules for meeting up.”

Taekwoon takes his phone from his hands, types his phone number, then there’s another phone ringing. He gives the phone back to Jaehwan, and leaves him standing there in the empty hallway. Jaehwan frowns in disbelief, before walking the other way.

When he reaches home and takes a look on his contacts, he scoffs at the name Taekwoon put in his phone. It’s entirely different from the other names on his contacts.

UNDEFEATED  
010-3727- 1948

TO: UNDEFEATED 18:53  
Wow I can’t believe this. Undefeated?!

Taekwoon still finds a way to annoy him and ruin his night. Jaehwan angrily types a message again to send to Taekwoon.

TO: UNDEFEATED 18:54  
I’M GOING TO CHANGE YOUR NAME HERE AS ‘THE FUTURE LOSER’ THAT IS MUCH BETTER BYE

He forgets to do so, as he puts his phone inside his drawer and decides to take a nap.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

Taekwoon is already there in the library reading a book, fully immersed on it that he doesn’t notice Jaehwan standing in front of him.

Jaehwan puts down his bag on the table and the soft thud makes Taekwoon jump on his seat.

“Cosmology, huh?” Jaehwan says, peeking on the page Taekwoon is reading. Much more complicated vector algebra, first chapter. He just started reading it.

Taekwoon glares at him and closes his book before putting it on the side. Jaehwan sits, taking out his notes.

“Okay, our first meeting should not take long.” Jaehwan says, flipping the pages of his notepad to look for the outline he made for the project. “Don’t worry, you can read your book again after fifteen minutes.”

Taekwoon doesn’t respond, so Jaehwan takes it as a yes. He draws a line below the outline.

“Okay, so we actually have two choices for this visual presentation. Virtual and physical.”

Jaehwan says. He looks up from his notepad to Taekwoon. “Well, I prefer the virtual, since it doesn’t consume too much time.”

Jaehwan is already expecting Taekwoon to be against his suggestion again, already expecting to be standing in front of his classmates to ask them about it.

“You’re right.” Taekwoon says after a moment of silence. Jaehwan’s eyes widen, and he thinks he just misheard it. The shock is probably showing on his face right now because Taekwoon is rolling his eyes at him. “Actually, what I really think is that we should do the virtual presentation, and if we have time left, we can try doing the physical one. We will just make it as simple as possible so it won’t take much of our time, at the same time it will be less expensive.”

He’s right. Jaehwan finds himself nodding slowly. “But the only problem I have in doing this presentation is...”

He doesn’t want to admit it in front of Taekwoon, but he has no choice. He can’t just show off and make a fool out of himself.

“I don’t really know how to use the software needed for this.”

He anticipates a laugh from Taekwoon, but it doesn’t happen. “Well, you’re lucky that I know how to use those.”

“Can you teach me then?”

Taekwoon nods. “I can teach you the basics and from that you can learn the rest by yourself.”

That is not bad, Jaehwan thinks. Taekwoon is being cooperative, just as determined as him. It is a good start, no misunderstandings so far and Jaehwan hopes this will continue until the whole exhibit finishes. Maybe this project won’t turn out bad after all.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

The fall into routine after that.

It is still the same, Taekwoon and Jaehwan bickering as usual, but when it comes to their project it means business. Only two weeks left before the exhibit and they’re almost finished. They decided to do Taekwoon’s idea and so far they are getting satisfying results.

It’s eight in the evening when Jaehwan waits for the bus. He was with Taekwoon, just finished doing a part of their project. He’s hungry, and he can’t wait to come home to finally eat.

Someone stands beside him, and Jaehwan doesn’t have to guess who it is. They don’t come out of the school together, it’s Jaehwan who always comes out first and then Taekwoon follows right before the bus appears. They ride the bus together though, just sitting on different seats, Taekwoon on the back and Jaehwan choosing the seat near the bus driver. It’s just like they don’t know each other.

Jaehwan is so hungry. He forgot to eat lunch earlier because of their art club meeting, and as the club’s president he was needed there. And they have classes five hours straight and right after the dismissal he had to meet Taekwoon. He never got to eat.

Something grumbles, breaking the night silence. Jaehwan closes his eyes in embarrassment and puts his hands on his cheeks, feeling warm. But then he realizes that he should not be ashamed of it, so he stands up straight and crosses his arms across his chest.

“The grumbling of our stomach doesn’t always mean that we’re hungry.” Jaehwan says defensively. “When we’re full, the pockets of gas and air still make those sounds, it’s just that the food absorbs some of the –”

There’s another grumbling, and Jaehwan wants to hide behind the tree. He turns around to look at Taekwoon, and Jaehwan can see that shit-eating grin on his face. He stomps his foot in irritation.

“Is there something funny, Jung?!”

“You.” Taekwoon says simply, biting his bottom lip, obviously to stop himself from laughing.

“How dare you laugh at me!”

Without even thinking – he really can’t even think right because he’s really hungry – Jaehwan grabs Taekwoon’s arm. Taekwoon glares at him, but Jaehwan doesn’t remove his grip. Taekwoon can only glare, and nothing more.

“I’m going to eat ramyun. And you’re coming with me.”

“Why do I have to go with you? You can eat by yourself!” Taekwoon tries to detach himself from Jaehwan, but Jaehwan doesn’t budge, already pulling him to the convenience store near their school. “Let me go, I want to go home.”

“Nope. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” He takes two cup ramyun from the shelf, still holding on Taekwoon, and goes to the cashier. He puts down the instant noodles and his money. The cashier is giving them a weird look, well since Jaehwan is not letting go of Taekwoon and Taekwoon looks like he’s going to kill with only his eyes.

“Lee Jaehwan – ”

“I will punish you for laughing at me. You’re going to suffer by watching me eat.” Jaehwan says. He’s sure that Taekwoon will not run away from him as soon as he removes his hand from his arm. He finally lets go of Taekwoon, and starts to open the cups.

Taekwoon doesn’t leave. Jaehwan pours hot water on the cups, and pushes the other one to the other’s direction. Taekwoon looks down, then at him.

“I don’t like you, but I’m not that mean.” Jaehwan says, avoiding looking at him by staring outside the window. “We’ve worked hard today, we should treat ourselves once in a while.”

“With ramyun?” Taekwoon snorts, but doesn’t reject the food Jaehwan offered.

“With ramyun.” Jaehwan says with finality. “Now, eat.”

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

He’s known Jung Taekwoon for years. He met him back in middle school, and they were both sporting mushroom hair.

Taekwoon was silent, the complete opposite of Jaehwan. Jaehwan tried to make him talk, and only one out of ten attempts was successful. He even cheered on Taekwoon before the start of their very first exam. Taekwoon just looked at him, then went back to staring outside the window.

Jung Taekwoon ranked first on their whole batch. Jaehwan was the close second. He even congratulated him, believing that he just made a slip.

But it happened again, Taekwoon getting the rank one position every term, Jaehwan so close but never beating him even once.

It made Jaehwan insecure, so frustrated, until it grew into disliking Taekwoon. And the rest is just history.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

It’s Monday and Jung Taekwoon didn’t appear on their first and second class. Jaehwan fidgets on his seat, quickly turning to look at the door whenever it creaks open. He hasn’t heard anything from his classmates about his absence yet, and it only makes him more worried because the presentation is on the day after tomorrow and they are supposed to finalize it today before showing it to Miss Jang.

There’s a knock and Jaehwan is sure that is not Taekwoon. He never knocks. Indeed, it reveals Kim Wonshik.

“Can I talk to Lee Jaehwan for a minute? This is an important matter.” Wonshik asks the teacher. Jaehwan points at himself, then looks at Wonshik. His teacher just smiles at him so he excuses himself and approaches Wonshik.

He closes the door behind him and leans against it. “Do you need me for something?”

Wonshik shakes his head. “Ah no, I’m here to relay Taekwoon’s message to you.”

“What happened to him?” Jaehwan asks, and he’s not going to deny that he’s worried. They still have a project to finish and Taekwoon leaving him to it is the least thing he wants right now.

“He never told me he’s going to skip classes today.”

“Well, he really can’t go to school today until Friday. He’s injured.”

Jaehwan stands up straight. “What?!”

“He injured his left leg last Friday while we were practicing.” Wonshik explains. “Only the team and our teachers know about it. He doesn’t want to make a fuss. Good thing it’s not bad so he’s allowed to come back next week.”

“Good thing.” Jaehwan repeats, and sighs in relief. At least he’s not badly injured. “But what are we going to do with our presentation? We need to finalize everything today.”

Wonshik tilts his head. “So that means you never really got Taekwoon’s message?”

“Message? What message?” Jaehwan asks, patting his pants to look for his phone. It’s not there. And he’s sure it’s not in his bag. “Shit, I think I forgot my phone back home.”

“So Taekwoon’s right.” Wonshik says, giving Jaehwan his phone. “Read this.”

Jaehwan takes Wonshik’s phone, and reads the message.

FROM: Captain Jung Taek 08:43  
Can I ask you a favor?

FROM: Captain Jung Taek 08:44  
Looks like Jaehwan left his phone in the other dimension. Can you tell Jaehwan to stop flapping around and we’re going to finish the project here in my house.

FROM: Captain Jung Taek 08:45  
Bring him here too. He doesn’t know where I live. Thanks.

Jaehwan returns Wonshik’s phone back. “Can you tell him I’ll see him later?”

“Alright. Meet you at the gates after dismissal.” Wonshik says, giving him a friendly salute before leaving.

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

Taekwoon looks fine, but he’s still limping. Jaehwan sits on the couch, waiting for Taekwoon to come back from the kitchen. His house is not that big, but spacious, just like Jaehwan’s. There are picture frames on top of a piano, and he wonders who plays the piano.

“Who plays the piano?” Jaehwan asks, when Taekwoon comes back with a tray on his hands. At least he’s hospitable, Jaehwan thinks.

“None of your business.” Taekwoon replies. Jaehwan rolls his eyes at him, and proceeds on opening his laptop. He notices Taekwoon biting his bottom lip while massaging his leg gently. Even though they’re not really friends and they always argue, he can’t help but feel bad and worried for the other. Taekwoon – according to Hakyeon and Hongbin and the rest of the student body – is the best soccer player their school has ever had. And having an injury can create a not-so-good impact to their future games.

“Hey.” Jaehwan starts, while waiting for his laptop to boot completely. Taekwoon glances at him, then back to his injured leg. “Wonshik said no one except the team and the faculty knows about this. Why?”

“I don’t want anyone to know about this.” Taekwoon says quietly. “If our schoolmates find out, it will definitely reach the other schools, and they will take advantage of it.”

He’s right. Jaehwan also knows that games can be dirty, and Taekwoon is just trying to be careful. Jaehwan recalls the stories he heard from his classmates during lunch break. “Your teammates said you’re currently in Jeju to visit your grandparents and will be staying there until Friday.”

“I told them to tell everyone that.” Taekwoon says. “Do they believe it?”

Jaehwan nods. From what he heard, the next game won’t be until the next two weeks so it’s believable.

He has nothing to ask from him, so he resumes on their project. After a few minutes, he remembers something important to ask him again. He stops typing from his laptop. “Does that mean I’m the only one who’s going to present this on Wednesday?”

Taekwoon stops on massaging his leg and looks at him. Jaehwan suddenly feels trapped by that stare from him. Taekwoon then sighs. “I have no choice. The doctor advised me to stay at home until Friday.”

“But –”

“This is what you want, right?” Taekwoon interrupts, leaning on the backrest of the couch and crossing his arms across his chest. “You’re going to present this alone, like it’s an individual work.”

Jaehwan feels like he’s been slapped, and he knows his face his red from embarrassment. What Taekwoon said is so unacceptable, and even though he never liked the initial setup, he’s already used to it right now and his project partner has been so cooperative in the process. Jaehwan is not an asshole, like what Taekwoon thinks. He doesn’t claim a work that is not completely his. And he knows how to acknowledge someone’s effort.

“No.” Jaehwan says sternly, clenching his hands. “We’ve both worked hard on this, and I’m not going to claim this project wholly. You’re a part of this too, and I’m not going to take all the recognition for this. We don’t really get along, I get it, but I’m not an asshole, Jung Taekwoon. Remember that.”

The shock is so obvious on Taekwoon’s face. Jaehwan sighs, and goes back to his laptop, but he can’t focus because of his outburst. So he sighs, and grabs a cookie from the tray like nothing happened.

“The miniature model is in Hakyeon’s house since his place is nearer than mine.” Jaehwan continues, getting another cookie. It seems like it just came from the oven. He wonders who made the cookies because it’s actually delicious. “And can you please help me on rendering this video so we can finally watch it?”

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

“Today is the day!” Hakyeon shouts, and everyone in the hall looks at him. He doesn’t even look ashamed from getting all the attention, as he helps Jaehwan carry the miniature model to its location. “You’re ready, Lee Jaehwan?”

“Of course. I didn’t even sleep last night for this.” Jaehwan answers confidently. He prepared for this, and he knows he won’t disappoint. Taekwoon also helped him on how he will present it to the guests, so he is one hundred percent sure that the outcome will be positive.

“Sadly, Taekwoon can’t make it today. Why does he have to visit his grandparents this week? He could have waited for this to finish before going to Jeju.” Hakyeon asks. Jaehwan only shrugs.

“Maybe he has to practice for their next game next week?” Jaehwan tries to say, and he hopes Hakyeon doesn’t notice him lying. He’s actually thankful that Taekwoon trusted him and reminded him about his injury which is supposed to be a secret between the soccer team and the faculty.

As soon as they put their model on the table, Jaehwan then opens his bag to take his laptop out. Hakyeon helps him on the preparation by removing the model’s plastic covering and checking if there is something missing. The event will start in one and a half hour. After setting up his laptop, he has to change his clothes into a more presentable one.

“Hakyeon, do you think I’ve been so rude to Taekwoon all these years?” Jaehwan asks all of a sudden, and it stops Hakyeon from what he’s doing.

“We talked about it right before your project started, right?”

Jaehwan nods in agreement. He remembers. “I know. You told me to set aside that childish rivalry I have with Taekwoon. And surprisingly, we never got into a serious argument while doing this whole thing.”

“So what do you mean?”

“I never thought about this until last night.” Jaehwan starts, sitting on the extra chair. He has more than an hour. He still has lots of time before the exhibit starts. “Yes, Taekwoon often makes me really angry and frustrated, but he never initiates an argument with me and he only responds when I provoke him. I think I’m only making myself suffer from nothing.”

“Bingo.” Hakyeon claps his hands. “Took you too long to realize that?”

“I know, I know. And this project made me realize it. I’m so stupid.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Jaehwan pouts, playing with the hem of his shirt. “I don’t know. I’ll be nice to him? What do you think?”

Hakyeon doesn’t respond, so Jaehwan looks up and finds him gaping at something behind him. He turns around, and he almost falls from his chair as soon as he sees Taekwoon looming over him.

“Jung?” He quickly stands up and blinks multiple times to confirm that he’s not dreaming. He’s not really dreaming. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s unfair that I leave you behind, right?” Taekwoon says, smirk on his face. “We’re almost on the finish line, why do I have to stop running?”

“But what about...” his eyes dart down, to Taekwoon’s leg. Your leg? “Your grandparents?”

“They’re fine.” Taekwoon says. Jaehwan knows he’s lying, and wonders how he managed to go all the way to their school, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. He tries not to cringe. “I will go back there after this presentation.”

Jaehwan can hear Hakyeon whispering ‘rich’ from behind him. “But –”

“No buts, Lee Jaehwan. I’m already here.”

 

 

 

///

 

 

 

The presentation went well, and after they talked to Miss Jang, Taekwoon suddenly disappeared. Jaehwan has to look for him, has to talk to him, has to fix everything.

“Jaehwan!” Hakyeon calls, grabbing his arm. “Where are you going? Our classmates are looking for you!”

“Sorry, but I have to look for Jung Taekwoon. I’ll come back.”

Hakyeon smiles at him, and pats his shoulder. “Finally you’re growing up. I’m so proud of you, son.”

“Shut up. I have to go.”

So Jaehwan looks everywhere to search for Taekwoon, at the same time trying to call him. Actually there is no need to rush, he can still talk to him when he goes back to school, but Jaehwan feels like he won’t have this confidence to talk to him next week.

He spots Hongbin standing near the laboratories, fiddling with his camera. “Hongbin!”

Hongbin turns around and greets him. “Hey, Jaehwan. Congratulations!”

“Thanks.” Jaehwan breathes out. He wipes the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve. “Have you seen Jung Taekwoon?”

“Taekwoon?” Hongbin frowns, and points on his back with his thumb. “He was here, with Wonshik. I talked to him. I don’t think he’s feeling good, though. Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s okay.” Jaehwan says and decides he should run before it’s too late. “I’ll see you later, Bin!”

 

“Okay!” Hongbin shouts back. “Go and catch the man of your dreams!”

Jaehwan doesn’t even have the time to curse at Hongbin and quickly heads to the parking lot, and there he sees Taekwoon leaning on a car – Wonshik’s car – and he’s talking to Wonshik.

“Jung Taekwoon!”

Taekwoon and Wonshik look on his direction, and Jaehwan has to hold on a post, panting from running too much. He never imagined himself doing this, for Jung Taekwoon, his rival.

Wonshik says something to Taekwoon before leaving the parking lot, and Jaehwan approaches him, still trying to catch his breath.

“I was trying to call you but you didn’t answer.”

“I left my phone in my house. My sister will probably call me.” Taekwoon replies, curiosity on his face. “Why are you looking for me?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“What if it worsens?”

“I’ve had the worst. This is nothing.”

“Jung.”

“What?” Taekwoon crosses his arms on his chest, furrowing his eyebrows. “What do you want, Lee.”

“Can we be okay?” Jaehwan blurts out.

“What?” 

“We’ve started off on the wrong foot, Jung Taekwoon.” Jaehwan says, staring on the concrete to avoid looking at Taekwoon in the eyes. “We’re not kids anymore. It’s tiring.”

There is silence between them, and Jaehwan is already thinking of stepping back and apologizing to him for everything he did but Taekwoon speaks up. “You started it, Jaehwan.”

Taekwoon is aware. He remembers those old times when Jaehwan walks to his table and asks him if they can be friends. He remembers how Jaehwan suddenly felt cold towards him, until it became hatred. This only makes Jaehwan a lot guiltier.

“I know, and I’m sorry.” Jaehwan bites his bottom lip, and using all the remaining confidence he has, he offers him his hand. “I want to be friends with you, again. But I don’t think you want the same. I’ve been rude to you all these years so I understand. Can we be okay, at least?”

Taekwoon stares at his hand, like he’s deliberating something, and Jaehwan breath hitches when Taekwoon finally accepts his hand.

“Okay.” Taekwoon whispers.

His answer is short and simple, and Jaehwan is not sure what he really wants, but he thinks it’s enough.


End file.
